Planning One week Itinerary for Finland
I recently visited Finland for a week and covered two vibrant and culturally rich cities, Rovaniemi and Helsinki. From the magical Northern Lights to the countless snow covered lakes, Finland was an unforgettable experience. Keep reading to find out my 7 day Itinerary for Finland. I hope this might help you plan yours with tweaks and modifications as per your convenience:
DAY 1 — We started with Rovaniemi
We took a direct flight from the Netherlands to Rovaniemi. Soon before landing, this was the photo I was able to capture from the sky.
We had booked a hotel in the city center of Rovaniemi. Since our plan was to travel all around via public transport, we took a bus at the airport to the city center. You will find buses to the city center and the Santa Claus village right outside the airport. You can buy the ticket from the driver in the bus.
As soon as we reached the hotel, we went out to visit the Rovaniemi center. It is a beautiful place with many restaurants, cafes and shops. There is also a giant mall with many shops inside right at the center. The most popular restaurant, if you wish to try Finnish food, is Restaurant Nili.
We realized that the restaurants are always booked so it is very important to make your reservations in advance via their websites. .
DAY 2 — Santa Claus Village
Our Day 2 was entirely dedicated to Santa Claus Village. Also check out my blog on the Santa Claus village. You can do various fun activities there, play in the snow, send a postcard from the arctic circle and finally meet Santa.
DAY 3 — Husky Sledge
We made a reservation a day in advance for the Husky Sledge ride. The package offered pickup and drop from the Rovaniemi center to the Husky Sledge Destination. It is one of the best adventure activities I did in Lapland.
DAY 4 — We traveled to Kakslautten to stay in a glass Igloo
Kakslauttanen is 3 hours away from Rovaniemi center. There are not many frequent buses so early in the morning around 9am, we took the bus (referring to Google Maps) to the Kakslauttanen village. We were guided to our igloos there. We spent a night waiting for aurora and enjoyed the quietness of the place. This stay was quite fun and different from usual.
DAY 5 — We traveled to Helsinki
From Kakslautten, we booked a cab to Ivalo airport and took a flight to Helsinki. We took a city pass to have all our public transport, cruise, museums covered and also got discounts on a few restaurants.
Day 6 — Exploring Helsinki
In the morning at 11am, there is a city bus operating that shows you all around the place. This was included in our city pass. It is one of the best ways to have a glance of the city and also learn the history and rich heritage. Later in the day, we visited the museums like the design museum, city museum, etc.
Day 7 — Suomenlinna island
This day was about visiting Suomenlinna island. Here again we visited the Suomenlinna museum which was a part of the city pass. We saw a submarine and went to various other places on the island.
We had lunch at Ekberg, one of the oldest restaurants in town. It is really amazing and you must definitely try it.
Back Homeee!!!
With this, our trip came to an end and we flew back to the Netherlands.
